Stewart goes down in South Australia

In reach: Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling's Macey Stewart and Amy Cure are 12 seconds back in the general classification despite Stewart crashing out near the finish line of the first stage. Picture: Brodie Weeding.

The first day of the Women’s Tour Down Under was marred by a crash to Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling’s Macey Stewart in South Australia on Thursday.

Stewart came down after completing the the final turn and required stitches to her wounds and will be able to continue when the tour continues on Friday and she will be tied with the peleton finish after she was awarded the same finish time in 73rd position.

It is the second time in a matter of weeks that Stewart has come down during a road race after crashing during the Ulverstone Criterium on Boxing Day.

All the TIS Racing Team riders and Stewart’s Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling teammate Amy Cure will start the second day 12 seconds behind the leader after finishing among the peleton.

Despite losing Chloe Moran to illness, the TIS Racing Team battled hard against the world’s best women riders to be fourth overall in the team competition.

New recruit for the 2018 season, Kristina Clonan was the first rider across the line for the team in eighth place.

Clonan’s finish position saw her take eighth place in the sprint classification with two points and also sit in second place in the young rider classification.

Launceston’s Georgia Baker rounded out the top 10 with a great ride in her first race as team captain.

The three guest rider all held onto their position in the main group and with Jessica Mundy crossing in 27th, Breanna Hargrave in 45th and Burnie Wheels champion Maeve Plouffe in 53rd.

The final Tasmanian across the line was Cure, who sits 60th in the general classification.

But the mood was high for the Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling team despite Stewart’s crash near the finish, as the stage was taken out by Cure and Stewart’s teammate Annette Edmondson.

Edmondson beat out two-time Road Race World Champion Giorgia Bronzini, Lauretta Hanson and Chloe Hosking to take a slight general classification advantage into day two.

Edmondson also holds onto the lead in the sprint classification, with 19 points earned in the stage, seven ahead of Bronzini and 10 ahead of Hosking.